Work gets underway on Fuqing 5 containment

17 August 2015

The first steel lining module for the containment building of Fuqing 5, China's first Hualong One unit, has been installed, plant builder China Nuclear Engineering Corporation (CNEC) announced. The company said the milestone marks a new phase in the civil construction of the unit.

The first ring of Fuqing 5's containment is lowered into place (Image: CNNC)

CNEC said that the operation to install the prefabricated steel ring - with a diameter of some 46 meters, a height of over 7 meters and a thickness of just 6 millimetres - took about two-and-three-quarter hours to complete on 16 August. A 2000-tonne crane was used to lift the component 29 meters off the ground and lower it onto the unit's foundation plate.

CNEC said that the installation of the ring marks the official start of construction of the internal structure of the main plant containment.

The pouring first concrete for Fuqing 5 began on 7 May, marking the official start of construction of the unit, the first of two Hualong One units planned for the Fuqing plant in China's Fujian province.

In November 2014, plant owner China National Nuclear Corporation announced that the fifth and sixth units at Fuqing will use the domestically-developed Hualong One reactor design, marking its first deployment. The company had previously expected to use the ACP1000 design for those units, but plans were revised in line with a re-organisation of the Chinese nuclear industry. China's State Council gave final approval for construction of Fuqing units 5 and 6 in mid-April.